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![Jonathan Nieder](/assets/img/avatar_default.png)
Git's configuration system works by reading multiple configuration files in order, from general to specific: - first, the system configuration /etc/gitconfig - then the user's configuration (~/.gitconfig or ~/.config/git/config) - then the repository configuration (.git/config) For single-valued configuration items, the latest value wins. For multi-valued configuration items, values accumulate in that order. For example, this allows setting a credential helper globally in ~/.gitconfig that git will try to use in all repositories, regardless of whether they additionally provide another helper. This is usually a nice thing --- e.g. I can install helpers to use my OS keychain and to cache credentials for a short period of time globally. Sometimes people want to be able to override an inherited setting. For the credential.helper setting, this is done by setting the configuration item to empty before giving it a new value. This is already documented but the documentation is hard to find --- git-config(1) says to look at gitcredentials(7) and the config reference in gitcredentials(7) doesn't mention this issue. Move the documentation to the config reference to make it easier to find. Signed-off-by: Jonathan Nieder <jrnieder@gmail.com> Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
189 lines
6.2 KiB
Plaintext
189 lines
6.2 KiB
Plaintext
gitcredentials(7)
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=================
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NAME
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----
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gitcredentials - providing usernames and passwords to Git
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SYNOPSIS
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--------
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------------------
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git config credential.https://example.com.username myusername
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git config credential.helper "$helper $options"
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------------------
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DESCRIPTION
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-----------
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Git will sometimes need credentials from the user in order to perform
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operations; for example, it may need to ask for a username and password
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in order to access a remote repository over HTTP. This manual describes
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the mechanisms Git uses to request these credentials, as well as some
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features to avoid inputting these credentials repeatedly.
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REQUESTING CREDENTIALS
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----------------------
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Without any credential helpers defined, Git will try the following
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strategies to ask the user for usernames and passwords:
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1. If the `GIT_ASKPASS` environment variable is set, the program
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specified by the variable is invoked. A suitable prompt is provided
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to the program on the command line, and the user's input is read
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from its standard output.
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2. Otherwise, if the `core.askPass` configuration variable is set, its
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value is used as above.
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3. Otherwise, if the `SSH_ASKPASS` environment variable is set, its
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value is used as above.
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4. Otherwise, the user is prompted on the terminal.
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AVOIDING REPETITION
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-------------------
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It can be cumbersome to input the same credentials over and over. Git
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provides two methods to reduce this annoyance:
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1. Static configuration of usernames for a given authentication context.
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2. Credential helpers to cache or store passwords, or to interact with
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a system password wallet or keychain.
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The first is simple and appropriate if you do not have secure storage available
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for a password. It is generally configured by adding this to your config:
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---------------------------------------
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[credential "https://example.com"]
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username = me
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---------------------------------------
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Credential helpers, on the other hand, are external programs from which Git can
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request both usernames and passwords; they typically interface with secure
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storage provided by the OS or other programs.
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To use a helper, you must first select one to use. Git currently
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includes the following helpers:
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cache::
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Cache credentials in memory for a short period of time. See
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linkgit:git-credential-cache[1] for details.
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store::
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Store credentials indefinitely on disk. See
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linkgit:git-credential-store[1] for details.
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You may also have third-party helpers installed; search for
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`credential-*` in the output of `git help -a`, and consult the
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documentation of individual helpers. Once you have selected a helper,
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you can tell Git to use it by putting its name into the
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credential.helper variable.
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1. Find a helper.
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+
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-------------------------------------------
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$ git help -a | grep credential-
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credential-foo
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-------------------------------------------
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2. Read its description.
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+
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-------------------------------------------
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$ git help credential-foo
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-------------------------------------------
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3. Tell Git to use it.
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+
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-------------------------------------------
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$ git config --global credential.helper foo
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-------------------------------------------
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CREDENTIAL CONTEXTS
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-------------------
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Git considers each credential to have a context defined by a URL. This context
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is used to look up context-specific configuration, and is passed to any
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helpers, which may use it as an index into secure storage.
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For instance, imagine we are accessing `https://example.com/foo.git`. When Git
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looks into a config file to see if a section matches this context, it will
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consider the two a match if the context is a more-specific subset of the
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pattern in the config file. For example, if you have this in your config file:
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--------------------------------------
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[credential "https://example.com"]
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username = foo
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--------------------------------------
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then we will match: both protocols are the same, both hosts are the same, and
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the "pattern" URL does not care about the path component at all. However, this
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context would not match:
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--------------------------------------
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[credential "https://kernel.org"]
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username = foo
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--------------------------------------
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because the hostnames differ. Nor would it match `foo.example.com`; Git
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compares hostnames exactly, without considering whether two hosts are part of
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the same domain. Likewise, a config entry for `http://example.com` would not
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match: Git compares the protocols exactly.
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CONFIGURATION OPTIONS
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---------------------
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Options for a credential context can be configured either in
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`credential.*` (which applies to all credentials), or
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`credential.<url>.*`, where <url> matches the context as described
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above.
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The following options are available in either location:
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helper::
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The name of an external credential helper, and any associated options.
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If the helper name is not an absolute path, then the string `git
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credential-` is prepended. The resulting string is executed by the
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shell (so, for example, setting this to `foo --option=bar` will execute
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`git credential-foo --option=bar` via the shell. See the manual of
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specific helpers for examples of their use.
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+
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If there are multiple instances of the `credential.helper` configuration
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variable, each helper will be tried in turn, and may provide a username,
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password, or nothing. Once Git has acquired both a username and a
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password, no more helpers will be tried.
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+
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If `credential.helper` is configured to the empty string, this resets
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the helper list to empty (so you may override a helper set by a
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lower-priority config file by configuring the empty-string helper,
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followed by whatever set of helpers you would like).
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username::
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A default username, if one is not provided in the URL.
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useHttpPath::
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By default, Git does not consider the "path" component of an http URL
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to be worth matching via external helpers. This means that a credential
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stored for `https://example.com/foo.git` will also be used for
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`https://example.com/bar.git`. If you do want to distinguish these
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cases, set this option to `true`.
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CUSTOM HELPERS
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--------------
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You can write your own custom helpers to interface with any system in
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which you keep credentials. See the documentation for Git's
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link:technical/api-credentials.html[credentials API] for details.
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GIT
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---
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Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite
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